Page 47 - Homiletics Student Textbook
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we act on what we know, we do not truly grasp that Word. Knowledge by itself is not enough; it
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should lead to action.
In Step 1 of the three-step process for studying the Bible, the task of the student is to practice good skills
of observation. This step answers the question, “What do I see?” Once he has carefully listed everything
he sees in the text, his next task is to better understand that which he has seen. This is Step 2 of the
three-step process for studying the Bible – that of interpretation. This step answers the question, “What
does this mean?” The final step of the three-step process for studying the Bible is application. This step
answers the question, “How does this work?” This final step is the subject of this session.
The Interpretative Journey Revisited
Grasping the Text in Their Town
This is the end result of the Steps 1 and 2 of the three-step process for studying the Bible. By
working through the six steps of the exegetical method in particular, the student should
have an accurate understanding of the text and be able to state the meaning that was
placed there by the original author in summary form, even as a single statement with both a
subject and a complement.
Example from Acts 1:8
The followers of Jesus were to wait and then work.
They were to wait for God’s Spirit to come to them and
empower them.
They were to work by testifying of Jesus to all people in all
places.
Measuring the Width of the River to Cross
With Step 3 of the three-step process for studying the Bible in view, the student must now
examine the differences that exist between what the original biblical audience was experiencing
then versus what the contemporary biblical audience is
experiencing today.
Example from Acts 1:8
Followers of Jesus today have a relationship with Him but
have not seen Him.
Followers of Jesus today receive God’s Spirit at the moment
of salvation.
58 J. Scott Duvall & J. Daniel Hays, Grasping God’s Word, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 213.
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